Recent Issues. Chapter 1: The Place of Feeling in the Analysis of Behavior. Quote 11
“On the point of offering a friend a glass of water, we do not ask, “How long has it been since you last drank any water?” or “If I offer you a glass of water, what are the chances you will accept it?” We ask, “Are you thirsty?” The answer tells us all we need to know. In an experimental analysis, however, we need a better account of the conditions that affect hydration and a better measure of the probability that a subject will drink. A report of how thirsty the subject feels will not suffice.” (p. 11)
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Many (most?) of our behavior analytic colleagues consider the little, nonverbal autistic kid’s self-injury behavior and aggression as an attempt to communicate to the trainer that the training task is too difficult, or he wants some attention, which, of course, is the sort of thinking that leads to facilitated communication. And that’s the sort of risk created by Skinner’s definition of verbal behavior as behavior reinforced by someone else; from my view, it is simplistic; all behavior analysts lock into that simplistic definition, without attending to his more sophisticated later qualifications or supplements. (Malott, in Michael Malott, 2003 , p. 116)